"Woohoo! Another supply run to the Herta Space Station! Hey hey, Dan Heng, Dan Heng, do you think Peppy will let me pet him this time?"
"Ah, we are heading there again?" Lucine didn't even bother to hide the yawn at the mention of the boring space station that the Astral Express frequently visits to resupply. His disinterest for the space station was plain for all to see.
"Yeah yeah yeah just hole yourself up on the train for your whole life, why don't you?" March quipped. "Anyway, Himeko and Dan Heng will be going as well. Mr Yang, will you be joining?"
"I will stay with Lucine and Pom-Pom," Welt politely declined the offer. "Have fun."
"You can bet on it!" March promised before skipping away while humming a merry tune under her breath. The Astral Express do have smaller ships that the crew can use to travel shorter distances across the galaxy and their current coordinates weren't too far from the Herta Space Station. Himeko and co will simply travel to the Herta Space Station using one of those ships from the Express to do their regular supply run.
It's not the first time Lucine had come across the Herta Space Station but he cannot help but find it so numbingly boring every single time he had been there. There's nothing to see, nothing to do, nothing to duel with, even the water there tastes bland and artificial, one of the worst he had ever interacted with and drank.
Lucine decided to just take a nap. He had no idea for how long he had slept, but he was woken up by the sudden revving of the train's engines. He exited from his room and soon found Welt and Pom-Pom. He knew something must be wrong the moment he spotted the worried look on their faces.
"What kind of trouble did they run into this time?"
"Himeko texted back to say that the space station is currently under attack from the Antimatter Legion," Welt succinctly summarised the situation at hand to the duelist. "The Express is heading to the space station as we speak. Be prepared for combat."
"Did you forget to check your phone again?" Pom-Pom added with a frown.
"Ah, I think I had left it in my room somewhere."
"Remember to bring your phone along with you! Everywhere you go!" Pom-Pom admonished the most forgetful member of the Express. "How else would we contact you if you get yourself lost again! Return to your room and take your phone with you! Now!"
Unwilling to face the conductor's wrath, Lucine obediently did as he was told. The space station was already in view by the time he rejoined Welt and Pom-Pom and Lucine headed straight for the door. He will be the first to disembark from the train the moment the train has been parked. He double checked his pockets in the meantime, making doubly sure that he could feel his phone in his pocket at least thrice, made sure the settings were set such that sound notifications were on so that he could hear any incoming text messages or calls. He put his phone away once he was pleased with the outcomes of his checks. He raised his head and spotted the figure of a familiar looking beast that nearly took March and Dan Heng's lives on March's very first excursion that also marked her first live combat experience. From the looks of it, it's also the main threat that the space station is facing right now. What's the beast's name again? Doomsday Beast?
"Himeko and the children are fighting against the Doomsday Beast, it would seem. We will have to hurry," Welt noted as he stood beside Lucine by the door, waiting for Pom-Pom to stop and dock the train properly before they could disembark and assist the crew who were in need of their immediate assistance. The train screeched to a halt at the moment as both Lucine and Welt remained impossibly stable on their feet. The train doors slid open in an audible hiss, and both crew members who were actually much older than they looked had already bolted out of the Express in swift blurs even before the door had fully opened.
The conductor moved to the opened door and worriedly saw them off, but quickly turned frustrated when it spotted the blue phone lying innocently on the tabletop placed next to the exit that spoke of the duelist's crimes.
"Lucine! I TOLD YOU TO BRING YOUR PHONE WITH YOU!"
The conductor's cries weren't heard, unfortunately. Lucine could never remember the layout of the space station for the life of him so he had planned to follow Welt's lead. It ended up being unnecessary, because the monster originating from the Antimatter Legion was too huge a target to be missed.
The monster had also slumped in defeat. Lucine cannot help but feel that the children had really come a long way since he had to save them from their first encounter with the Doomsday Beast. Sure, March and Dan Heng had Himeko around to help them this time and oh, there's another stranger with them too, but the improvements they exhibited cannot be ignored either.
Maybe he can finally ramp up the intensity of their training when they return to the Express?
The Doomsday Beast fell, yet the tail– or was it the head, Lucine can never really tell when it comes to these abominations– was suddenly swinging uncontrollably and a powerful laser beam swept across the platform where the group was at. Lucine could immediately tell where the trajectory of the attack would end up but not everybody had his wealth of experience to do what he could at a moment's glance.
"March!"
He wasn't the only one who was shouting at March to quickly move out of the way. The girl was clearly exhausted from the battle earlier and had seen what would happen, but her body was just too tired to move away in time. Lucine sprang off the floor in a powerful leap, his sword already in hand, hoping with all his heart that he would be able to intercept the attack in time.
He wasn't able to make it. However, the unknown girl with grey hair had put herself in harm's way and blocked the lethal blow that might have taken March's life on March's behalf. It bought just enough time for Lucine's sword to finally be in striking range.
The world went silent, its occupants felt submerged under the pressure of the sea, and everything only returned back to normal when the beast was being split into two neat halves a split second later.
Lucine landed on his feet but he could still feel a tremendous amount of power being emitted, power that he had quickly learnt to associate with the Cancer of All Worlds after boarding the Astral Express. He turned around, spotting the unknown girl enveloped in golden spirals of pure energy that had driven worlds to extinction and no matter how unbelievable it looked, he had no choice but to accept the truth.
The girl had a Stellaron in her body and it's going out of control.
The uncontrollable power had forced Himeko away from the epicenter. Dan Heng had also pulled March away. Lucine was still able to freely move under the pressure of the Stellaron's power and he wasn't the only one. The bespectacled Nameless of the Express had tapped the handle of his cane against the girl's forehead just as Lucine pressed his palm against the girl's back.
Lucine had been adrift among the sea of stars for quite some time now. He had time to get to know the nature of his power a little better and his crewmates were also more than willing to hypothesise and form speculations about where he could have come from and the origins of his power. One notable aspect of his power is to purify all corruption and filth, but Welt had brought up the possibility that the underlying power that even allowed this to be possible was the concept of "equilibrium", to revert all state of things to a harmonious balance.
Welt believed that his power might have been derived from the ancient Aeon HooH and that the true Path that he strode on was the Equilibrium. Honestly, Lucine couldn't give a damn about Aeons and Paths because most of it flew over his head and his memory was too bad to retain much knowledge about everything Welt and Himeko tried to teach him, but if their speculations were true he's glad that he had this power at his disposal.
Things were much more simplified in his memory-impaired mind: the power of a Stellaron was running out of control, so all he had to do was to stabilise the uncontrollable power by allowing it to reach a state of equilibrium and the girl would then be saved.
The effect of Welt's and Lucine's combined efforts were instantaneous. The Stellaron ceased running amok, the girl fell unconscious and March caught her before the girl made a painful landing. Everyone was obviously worried, not so much about the idea of a Stellaron going out of control but whether the girl was alright.
"Mr Yang! Is she…"
"She's okay now, let's talk somewhere else."
"I will watch over the girl, so don't worry. Whatever happened just now will not happen again," Lucine promised, his senses still sharp and wary of any monsters that might spring an ambush when they least expected it.
If the Antimatter Legion continues to be an annoying roadblock like how things had panned out today he should perhaps propose for the Astral Express to chart a course to wherever these monsters build their HQ and wipe them all out with his sword. He believed that Himeko had told him about Nanook's goons before, the self-proclaimed Lord Avengers or something. He believed Welt had also told him in passing about how they had destroyed numerous worlds or stuff but hey, they are not the only special ones in this universe possessing the power capable of slicing a planet into two.
He wouldn't consider anything that could be solved with a swing of his sword a problem. If a few swings of his sword is all that is needed to put a conclusive end to the annoying pests known as the Antimatter Legion, he will do it without hesitation.
He really, really had enough of their shenanigans at this point.
Stelle had no idea what to really think when she suddenly found herself onboard a train to nowhere. She had nowhere to go, nowhere to call home, no purpose in her life but thankfully, the crew of the Astral Express looked and felt genuinely friendly. They readily took her in without question despite knowing nothing about her.
One, no matter the ebb and flow of fate, stop staying within the lines. Two, even in the face of tempestuous seas, we always align.
Three, even if we don't gain the upper hand, we'll fight for right. Four, even if forgotten by the world, never care a rap for hindsight.
Five, no matter how bleak the cosmos may get, let us light the night. Six, even when there are wheels within wheels, go ahead!
May this journey lead us starward.
That absolutely cringey initiation aside, she had become an official crew of the Astral Express, a Nameless. Everyone even helped clear out the spacious storeroom for her so that it can be refurbished into her very own room. Pom-Pom helped to sweep the floor, unwanted junk were promptly disintegrated by Welt, March helped out with the decorations, Dan Heng gave advice on how to organise her room, Himeko ordered the required furnishings on her behalf, and Lucine's magical command over water made her room spick and span within minutes.
Unbelievable as that sounded, the cluttered storeroom was transformed into a spacious and luxurious bedroom within a few hours. She really was given the VIP treatment despite having known them only for a very short while before she boarded the Express.
"You know, now that I think about it, if we exclude Pom-Pom half of us here are amnesiacs. I'm starting to see a pattern here."
"Who else is an amnesiac?" Stelle asked in curiosity as the crew took a long awaited break in the Party Car after they had finished helping to furnish her room. Stelle naturally gravitated towards March and Dan Heng while the adults had their own corner.
"Lucine. He's kind of like me, but he at least remembered his name and had a sword with him when Mr Yang and Himeko found him. He has a very bad memory though."
"Rule number five of the Astral Express: Always make sure that Lucine has his phone with him before he disembarks from the Express," Dan Heng added. "He's very forgetful and has a tendency to get lost. If he doesn't have his phone with him it's going to be very difficult to track him down if– no, when he gets lost."
"Do you think the next one to join will be an amnesiac too? If that really happens the majority of the crew will be amnesiacs!"
"Or we can make Dan Heng an amnesiac to make people like us a majority?" Stelle jokingly suggested. Surprisingly, Dan Heng actually took a few seconds to mull over the offer very seriously.
"That… might actually have its own merits?"
"Whoa whoa whoa time out time out! Dan Heng! You can't be serious!" March exclaimed before releasing a shocked gasp as if suddenly hitting an epiphany about the truth of the universe. "Unless… you really had a dark past?! It's always like this in the films! A band of travellers going on an expedition somewhere and then bam! Suddenly the nicest guy among them is actually the villain with a super dark past?! Dan Heng, is that you?!"
"I don't think I'm the nicest guy on the train so going by your logic, that wouldn't be me."
"Hmm, the adults are really nice too," March mulled over Dan Heng's words. "Mr Yang is so reliable, Himeko is so nice, Lucine… okay, he's nice outside of the training sessions we have with him and whenever we run into monsters it's always the safest to be by his side. He's just that powerful. Damn, Dan Heng, you have a point. It's hard to pinpoint who's the nicest guy here."
"What are you three gossiping about behind our backs?" Himeko's voice could be heard and March turned around, just in time to see the three adults walking up to them.
"Speculating our individual dark pasts– mmph!"
"Shhh! Stelle! We are not supposed to tell them that!" March was too late in silencing their newest member and had no choice but to brush the topic aside with an awkward laugh. "Ahahaha… we are, uh… Dan Heng! A little help here!"
"I'm busy reading my book."
"Dan Heng!"
"I didn't see it for myself, but I heard you can fight?" Lucine looked at the newest girl curiously. Her weapon of choice certainly struck him as odd but he's not going to question her preferences. Any weapon is a good weapon as long as it can get the job done.
"I think March said you are powerful?" Stelle was getting a little curious about her fellow amnesiac. For a moment she believed she saw Lucine's eyes sparked in excitement a little after she said what she said but it must have been a trick of the light.
"Want to find out? We can have a spar. I am, after all, the Trainer of the Express, responsible for inducting and training our new recruits in the art of combat. Both Dan Heng and March had been through that rite of passage, I don't see why you should be any different."
"W-W-Wha… Wait wait wait! Lucine! Leave Stelle alone! She's literally only born yesterday! She doesn't know any better! Go pick someone your own size!" Stelle got even more confused when March's face instantly turned paler than a sheet of paper. Even Dan Heng looked aghast at the idea of them coming into blows.
"Why that overreaction? It's only just a spar–"
"The first time you had a spar Dan Heng's face was indistinguishable from a warp trotter, pom!" Pom-Pom accused.
"I still have the pictures," Himeko added with a playful chirp.
"You still had that?"
"It's a precious memory. I'm half-tempted to get a memokeeper from the Garden of Remembrance to turn it into a Light Cone for me."
"Please don't."
"Don't worry March, I got this," Stelle confidently held March back and patted herself on the chest in the universal gesture of confidence and reassurance. "Newbie initiation? Rite of passage? I'm going to blow everything out of the water and set an unbreakable record for all the future newbies to come. I swear upon my honour as the Galactic Baseballer!"
"You… You… Stelle, listen to me. You have no idea what you are going up against!" March was genuinely afraid for her newest friend. "Look, I was once like you. Dan Heng warned me, I didn't listen. It was my life's greatest regret."
"Alright, little March, if you are going to continue to make up lies about me like a fictionologist I'm gonna bring you into our spar as well."
"You… She… What's wrong with you?! She's only born yesterday!"
"All the more reason to quickly equip her with the necessary skills while we have the chance to enjoy a brief respite. Who knows what other things we might encounter at our next stop?"
"Alright, I'm all fired up now! Let's go!" Stelle was fearless and for once in forever, March wondered if this is a trait of all amnesiacs. She's starting to see her newborn self in the Stelle as of now. Wasn't this exactly how she acted before she got utterly traumatised by Lucine? Is this what people meant when they said ignorance is bliss?
Ultimately, the whole crew moved to the Training Car.
"En Garde."
Whack
"Again."
"En Garde."
Whack
"Again."
"En Garde."
Whack
"Again."
"En Garde."
Whack
"Again."
It was an endless cycle of En-Garde-whack-again. Perhaps it was because Pom-Pom was glaring daggers at Lucine from the side but Dan Heng didn't see any noticeable injuries or even bruises on Stelle's body despite being punted from one end of the car to the other repeatedly. He's starting to feel a little jealous, to be perfectly honest with himself. He didn't have such a privilege when he first joined.
It also didn't escape everyone's notice that Stelle definitely was enjoying this as much as Lucine did despite all she did was to be thrown around like a ragdoll. The growing grin on her face said it all.
"Oh great. We used to have only one battle junkie, now we have two of them," March groaned and buried her face in her hands.
"She's quite talented in the art of combat. Who knows, maybe Lucine might even impart a thing or two to her about swordplay?"
"Himeko, we don't need two Lucines. Stop putting weird ideas in our heads! What if Lucine hears you?! Didn't you hear? After Stelle's turn is over we are next! Dan Heng and I are going to die!"
"Himeko, maybe you should cook Lucine a meal. He had to be tired after training Stelle and would need to eat to recover the energy he lost," Dan Heng suggested with utmost sincerity. This idea conflicted with his morality but this is for the greater good. The trainer couldn't possibly train them if he had to recover from a venomous bout of food poisoning.
"I think brewing a cup of coffee would suffice," Welt cannot help but offer an alternative suggestion from the goodness of his heart. Himeko's face lit up at the idea and immediately turned on her heels to do just that, ignorant of the collective sighs of relief released by everyone else. Finally, Lucine will have to dial back a little on the intensity of his training sessions. March even shared a look of understanding with Dan Heng. Finally, they could take a break. They will not need to suffer under Lucine's tyranny, not today.
So imagine their surprise when Lucine very casually gulped down Himeko's brew without even a visible change in his expression, almost like he's not drinking Himeko's legendary coffee but plain water. Himeko looked pleased that someone enjoyed her handmade coffee and returned to the Party Car, promising that she will be back with more, much to everyone's inner horror but had no courage to voice them out to their navigator.
"W-W-What…? How…?" March could no longer hold it in and directed her shock and awe at the duelist among them, the Sword of the Express.
"How what?"
"How did you… Finish everything Himeko brewed? Her coffee…"
"Has a very powerful kick," Welt very wisely completed March's words for her lest she ended up unknowingly offending the navigator who may or may not be back soon.
"The taste is quite different from what I remember coffee should taste like, but otherwise it's okay," Lucine replied as if he didn't just drink the universe's most venomous brew. "Alright, stop dallying around. March, Dan Heng, to the duelling ring you go. There's no point delaying the inevitable."
"No… This can't be happening…" March fell to her knees in denial and shock. How? How is Lucine not affected by…
Wait. Lucine has the ability to purify all corruption… That must be it! Ahhh! They had overlooked! A major oversight!
"Why did they look so pale? Lucine's training is fine, it's not that bad," Stelle voiced out in obvious confusion punctuated with a cute tilt of her head. Her gaze fell back onto the cup that Lucine just drank from as the merciless duelist dragged both her unwilling friends into the duelling ring. Why were everyone so surprised that Lucine was able to drink the coffee? Is Himeko's coffee really that bitter?
She might only be born yesterday but she's not one to back down from challenges. Now she's curious. How bitter can Himeko's coffee be?
There's still some of Himeko's special brew left at the bottom of the cup and Stelle simply picked the cup up and drank the remainder, much to Welt's horror. His partially outstretched hand remained outstretched, frozen at that specific moment of time as the understanding and realisation of the implications of Stelle's ignorant act hit him in slow motion.
He was too slow. He was too late to stop her. Oh no…
"... Stelle? You okay?"
"Hmm, the taste's a little… off?" Stelle's face was scrunched up and she wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she's starting to see copies of everything around her. Why are there three Mr Yang? Urgh, her stomach's suddenly feeling funny. Is the Stellaron inside of her acting up again?
"Mr Yang? I… I don't feel so… good..."
"Stelle? Stelle, what's wrong?" There was a dull thud and Stelle was suddenly in a horizontal position rather than the vertical one she was earlier. "Stelle, Stelle! Pom-Pom, we need the first-aid box! It's a medical emergency!"
"O-On it! Pom!"
Needless to say, Lucine had immediately ceased his training the moment he noticed the commotion. March and Dan Heng were also immediately by Stelle's side.
"She's foaming at the mouth! Quick, Dan Heng, do CPR!"
"How am I supposed to do it when she's foaming at the mouth?!"
"I don't know! Just do it! Or else she's going to die at the ripe old age of one day old! I swear, she was fine just minutes ago! What happened?!"
"There were a few drops of Himeko's coffee left in the cup Lucine drank from. Stelle drank it before I could stop her."
"She did that?" Dan Heng looked at Welt in disbelief. How… Just how suicidal was Stelle to even think of doing that? There are better ways to achieve suicide!
"A few drops of Himeko's coffee was enough to incapacitate a host of a Stellaron? Mr Yang, I think we may have found a new method to seal those things up for good. We found a cure to the Cancer of All Worlds. How much do you think we can profit off from that?"
"Why are you guys looking like it's the end of the world? It's just coffee. Maybe Stelle simply was allergic to coffee?" Lucine could not conceive how his crew genuinely believed that coffee could remove the Cancer of All Worlds from the universe as he gently injected and directed his power into Stelle's body to purify the negative reactions her body was exhibiting and achieving a peaceful equilibrium once more. She had stopped foaming at the mouth, at least, so he must be doing something right. In any case, their newest member will not be dying at the ripe old age of one day old.
"You… Wait, now this begs the real question," March looked at Lucine with narrowed eyes and her hands on her hips. "How are you alright? You drank an entire cup!"
"Stop overreacting. It's just coffee."
"It's… It's not just coffee!"